Five Nights at Manny's
by Kashimalin
Summary: Meet Paige and Shrignold, two young adults trying to make due for the rent. Not wanting to work at a dead-end job, they decide to take on the double-duty security guard task at the local kid's place, Manny Myrtle's. Their only lifeline the wheelchair-bound previous guard, the two have to make it through the night, avoiding the animatronics, who seem to get restless in the night...
1. New Meat

Shrignold flicked through the newspaper that morning with a bored expression on his face. His roommate, Paige, was just getting out of bed to make herself breakfast, which was nothing special. Just some bland cereal and orange juice, which she almost poured into her cereal by mistake.

"Is there anything that one of us could get for a job to at least get us by?" He was going through a second time to see if there was anything he missed. "I know you work better at night, but of course, nothing's open that night except that McDonald's you refuse to work at."

"I can't handle people at twenty-four seven drive-throughs," Paige stated bluntly, while plopping down across their cheap card table from him. "They're either too tired, too loud, drunk of their asses, or just insane."

Shrignold chuckled as he flicked to the next page, and his eyebrows raised.

"…How hard would a nightguard job be for five days a week?"

Paige's eyes shifted up.

"They're looking for two people, as well!" He seemed excited. "This could get us through while we look for something better…"

Paige nodded and her tiredness seemed to exit her body faster than Shrignold could get out of his chair to get out of his pajamas.

"We'll go today, they're looking for people and let's not miss this job!" He danced around the kitchen before running into his room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Paige and Shrignold entered the place with some hesitation. To be greeted with a bunch of smiling kids who were running around with party hats or tokens in hand… This place was innocent as innocent could be. It was an easy job. Who would even want to rob this place? A parent desperate for more tokens so they wouldn't have to pay tomorrow?<p>

"Are you the two who called?" Shrignold turned to the creaking of a wheelchair, and pulled Paige's sleeve to get her to turn as well.

"Hello there kids! Welcome to Manny's Myrtle's, the only place for family fun!" His smile suddenly faded. "It's also rather… how do I word this…" The man turned to look away, while Paige and Shrignold merely traded glances.

"Anyway!" The man suddenly got right back into it, his peppy smile and attitude back. "My name is Tony, and I'm the day guard here. Nothing much happens during the day, of course, save for a couple of broken animatronics. Kids these days…" There's a chuckle as he pulls back, motioning for them to come along with him.

Paige nearly screams when she sees metal bodies walking around. A bright yellow human-esque person is dancing with little kids, a bird nearby is serving pizza, and a green rabbit is sitting on the stage playing a drum with other kids who were dancing around with grins on their faces.

All eyes suddenly shift towards them, while their bodies continued interacting with the kids. Paige felt a chill ride up her spine. Shrignold grimaced at them before they turned away.

"Excuse them," Tony said as he gestured for them to come away. "They've been acting rather strange lately…" He led them away from the excitement through the party rooms and past other rooms, such as a large game room where Shrignold couldn't help but peeking in and hearing a bright "Hello!" as someone… or thing… greeted people and kids skipped by with jiggling tokens.

"Here's your office," Tony said, wheeling through the doorway. Shrignold saw that Paige was distracted by the whole place, including being bothered by the fact that there were no doors present. Clearly, she saw something off about it. Shrignold, on the other hand, seemed not sense that anything was actually off about the place, save for those animatronics that were around. But they would be shut off in the night, nothing could bother them at all!

Inside the office, there was a desk, a tablet sitting nearby that had different buttons for cameras, two vents on both sides that, Tony showed, lit up, and then a chair, fan, drawings… all the little things about an office that made it a bit more personal.

"I hung those up, by the way." Tony leaned forward and sighing, staring up at his favorite one. "There's one with Manny, and then one with Robyn. And then there's me, in the wheelchair. Kids love me for this old rickety thing. I don't know what makes a person in a wheelchair more appealing."

"Perhaps it's the fact that you are closer to their level?" Paige tilted her head, while Shrignold went to click the lights in the vent on and off.

"So… how do we defend ourselves from anyone?"

"Well, see, you don't exactly defend yourself from anybody…" Tony picked up a huge flashlight, held it out to the wide hallway before them, and flickered it on and off.

"This thing should, in theory, last you your six hour shift. But the battery could run out, and well, I think they're stored somewhere else in the building, so I wouldn't recommend going out to get one… Just my recommendation." Tony placed it back down again, and wheeled to the tablet.  
>"Here's your cameras. Just watch the rooms, keep an eye on everything." He held it out to Paige, who was closer as Shrignold tested if he could lift the heavy flashlight. Taking it, she flicked it on and saw all the rooms and how the cameras shifted. It certainly seemed like a very happy place to kids, but a dull place to any robber. Unless you wanted to steal the animatronics, there was nothing to steal.<p>

"Shrignold, we better get some sleep before tonight's shift."

"Oh, starting already? Sounds like you two are certainly desperate for any job…" Tony trailed off again, something that Shrignold noted. _There's something strange_, he thought to himself.

* * *

><p>Back at the apartment, Shrignold collapsed into the bed and found himself unable to sleep at all. Paige was as well, and finally went to Shirgnold's room and fell into his bed next to him. It cramped the available bed space by a ton, but Shrignold wasn't complaining.<p>

"I can't sleep, Shrignold. That place unnerved me. I keep going back to that moment when every animatronic stared at us. They were dead. They can't be completely programmed. They're alive, I can feel it."

"Inanimate objects can't be alive, Paige." Shrignold turned on his side and leaned against his arm.

"No, they have to be!" Paige wrung her hands in the air, but then slammed them down on either side of her body, but then gave a huge sigh and laced her hands together over her stomach. "Shrignold, let's do this. One night. I've got to see if I can handle this job."

"…Do you want me to calm you down? Do you want to sleep here?"

"…Let me sleep here. But don't you _dare_ try anything. I just need company. I don't need kisses or sex." She wasted no time being blunt, and turned over to sleep. Shrignold nodded, having not even considered doing anything without her consent first, and sex? Too many steps, too fast, and too far.

He turned over as well and fell into a light sleep.

Later, Shrignold woke up to Paige getting out of bed at 10:45 PM. He had no idea he needed that much sleep, and wondered if Paige had slept all right as well.

"Shrignold, buddy, wake up!" Paige seemed suddenly way more confident, but Shrignold wondered if that was just a façade to disguise her want to stay far away from that place.

"All right, I'm awake, I'm awake and groggy." Pulling himself up, Shrignold went and pulled out a somewhat nicer shirt, but found he had no dress pants. Pulling on cargo shorts, he saw Paige come out of the bathroom with her own casual wear, and a hat. She spun it around her finger before sliding it onto her head.  
>"Night watch hat I stole from a hook in the office. Clearly, they only think one person's gonna be there."<p>

"Hm." Shrignold sighed as he took the car keys and threw them to Paige as he also got his coat.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Welcome, thought you might not come. The animatronics are where they're supposed to be, and the tablet's turned on, flashlight batteries replaced, and lights working." Tony was there with a key outside the back door that led directly into the guard office, and nodded to them. "I'll be back at six o'clock to take over and make sure you haven't… <em>fallen asleep.<em>" He chuckled a little darkly, and then slammed his leg. "Damn these bloody things!"

Paige and Shrignold were suddenly very glad that he wouldn't be the office with them.

"I'll call you in about ten minutes when I get home to give you further instructions; no time for it now here. Have fun now, kids." He led them in, then shut the door behind them, locking it.

"Kids… be safe in there. I lost Laura, that lovely lady."

Inside, Paige and Shrignold heard a ringing clock after about ten minutes had passed. Twelve gongs rang out through the halls, and then, a clang. Dull, and almost inaudible, but still there and present.

Paige instantly grabbed the tablet, and Shrignold, the flashlight.

"... All seems fine," she stated bluntly, but her hands told otherwise. "There's a back room, you know, with older animatronics."  
>"Was there anything in the entrance hall, by the way?"<br>"Yeah, some sort of unicorn thing. With a bunch of balloons."

"Ughh. It talks too, you know."

"Mhm. Augh!" Paige had discovered the light control she had as well and used it on the room that stated it to be called "Kid's Cove."

"There's a mangled mess of parts in there."

Suddenly, in the dead silence that followed, she screamed again, as did Shrignold, when the phone started ringing.

Neither of them moved to answer it right away, but finally, on the third ring, Paige, sitting at the desk, picked it up with a shaking hand.

"H… hello?"

"Hello, hello!" Tony's voice rang through rather loudly, and Paige noticed that he had turned the volume all the way up. "Can you both hear me? I sure hope so, but it's the first night, you shouldn't need much. Let me give complimentary introductions, but first, about this fun time here… Check that camera. I'll assume Greenie's gone by now. I'll give you a few moments. Greenie's that bunny thing."

Paige quickly looked to Shrignold, and he paled as well. She flipped the screen to the main stage, where she knew she had seen Greenie only moments before. He was gone.

Shifting around as fast as she could, and lighting the rooms, she finally saw him. Bongo drum in hand, he was there in the dining area.

She screamed, and you could hear Tony's reel back in his voice.

"Wooah! Tone down your screeches, or they'll _hear you._" His voice bowed to whisper, and Paige covered her mouth.

"Paige?"

"…Shrignold. _They're alive._"


	2. Calling

"_What?_" Shrignold was instantly at her side, looking at the bunny who stared up at them from the screen, obviously aware that they were present in that security room.

"All right, now that you've seen this strange occurrence, let's begin introductions. Greenie won't get here for a little while. Welcome to your job at Manny Myrtle's, and anything you've ever heard about this place, be it from your childhood or whatever, ignore everything. These new animatronics are very expensive, worth way too much. Damned things have super strength, can't be damaged with a punch. Believe me, I've tried. Grips as tight as iron."

Paige and Shrignold exchanged glances, and he quickly clicked on the vent lights while a clang told them something was moving again. Paige began to nervously checked cameras, Greenie the only one who moved, and even he hadn't left his dining area.

"All right, so, why these animatronics are so expensive, and why you can't damage these things. They can move like crazy. Faster, quieter, and far more nimble. Facial recognition. And get this. They're attached to a criminal database. Here's hoping you have no criminal records."

Paige shivered, and she and Shrignold exchanged glances. Neither had any sort of record, but they were both still wondering if either had something in the past.

"Heck, these things should be paid to guard you, but a fat load of crap that is when they're severely against you. I worked here before you, and I had a couple… issues with the animatronics. Which resulted in this damn wheelchair! So much time is now wasted because of all this new "being handicapped" business!"

Paige checked the cameras again, and saw now that there was a Prize center. And there was a little meter half down.

"Sir, Tony, please. The prize area. What is this meter?"

"… Ah! That thing. That accursed thing. See, the animatronics will, at night, try to get into the office. Engineers didn't give these things a proper night mode, so when it goes quiet, they try to find sound. Office has lights, and you two, you might not notice, but the little movements you have make a lot of sound. So, here, that meter, see the dial on your screen? There's a music box to lull off any animatronics. Wind it up remotely, and while it doesn't affect them all, it affects… one." He started coughing violently, and Paige heard gulping of some sort of drink, while Shrignold reacted to the sound of a metal bump by turning on the flashlight, and in switching cameras, Paige saw that Bonnie was now in the camera's face. She jumped, but was trying to not scream.

"For the rest of those batshit crazy metal bots, we've got an even better solution, and that kiddo who's doing lights is better suited for the job. These _things_ take you to be a metal endoskeleton without a suit, because you haven't got this giant head. You're also an adult, which makes you worse than a kid. Make sure you're hitting this big red button. Should be right near where I left it by the flashlight. Hit that thing, and sound reacts back at the stage area. It's the sound of laughing kids, screaming and running around. Any animatronics that get into your office, somehow, hit that button. Then be as still as you can be. They'll think you're broken because you aren't moving, then. But they have to be in your office, because anywhere else, it echoes, and the animatronics will not react. I've figured this out the very difficult way. They'll go away from you, and back to the stage."

Shrignold held up the button, and Paige saw the sweat that practically coated his hand.

"Don't worry about the power in this place going out, and also, don't bother searching for batteries if that flashlight runs out. To summarize, kids, lights on the vents, check 'em, hit that red button for sounds, and keep that music box going. Have a good night, and I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow!"

The click showed a dead lifeline, and when Paige hung up the phone, she saw a "Tony" followed by a phone number taped to the top of the phone. A lifeline!

However, the next set of clangs came through the ventilation. Paige and Shrignold nervously looked aside, and Paige checked cameras and Shrignold, the lights.

"Nothing on my end." Shrignold settled into the chair in front of the desk in relief, and Paige finally found the source of the sound.

Greenie was in front of the vent, crouching beside with an arm in. The bongo lay abandoned nearby.

Suddenly, a caution light began blinking. Paige realized it was referring to the music box. Winding it up, she decided to check other rooms as Greenie had moved to pick up his drum.

"Shrig… Hey, there's something I gotta ask."

Shrignold turned his head to look at Paige, his hands sweating more than he could have imagined. He was happy to see that tiny fan there, and clicked it on, making sure it was at it's lowest setting. Less noise.

"Do you think we're gonna live?"

Shrignold gave his biggest smile, but it was shaking from the fear.

The fear of losing his best and only friend.

He loved her. In almost every way that a person could love. And he knew she didn't easily give the same feelings. Or maybe not easily. It just took her time for her to get to know people.

"I'd like to get through college, Shrig. I'd love to work as an art teacher, and…!"

"Paige!"

He stood up, hands on the desk as he stood before her. "We'll get through this. Promise!"

Paige was almost crying, but Shrignold's confident look that he was clearly trying to put on for both of them made her feel a little less scared.

Her best friend was there for her.

* * *

><p>Hours passed, until about three o'clock. The clangs had scared them enough, but Greenie had mostly been playing around with them, clanging both vents to scare them. Paige swore a couple times when she forgot to wind back the music box, and once, when she checked what was actually there when she forgot to wind the box, she nearly had a heart attack.<p>

"There's a frightening caterpillar there. It cracks out of an egg, like a bird's egg!"

"…Paige, caterpillars don't come out of eggs for birds. They come out of little circles."

"Not this one, Shrig. This one is freaky as all hell, and comes out of an egg."

"Don't you dare let that thing out. It's going to kill us, too. If it needs to be kept under music box watch, then…"

"I don't want to hear a thing about it."

Suddenly, Shrignold hear clang, far louder than any one that they had heard before. The right vent.

He clicked the light, and saw nothing.

"…Paige. The right vent camera."

"…_Oh…_ Oh my God… Shrig, he's in the vent, the vent! He's coming!"

They were almost ready to scream, and suddenly, there he was, the light flickered on by Shrignold, and the vibrant eyes looked up at them.

He grabbed the button, and was ready. Paige went rigid out of fear. She didn't dare blink.

Shrignold fell to the floor, acting limp. Right when he heard the metal feet dragging in the office, he hit the button and stared into space, trying to not blink.

A moment later, there was laughter, from deep inside the building. It was childish, exciting. The sound of the music they had heard from the drums was present as well.

The metal shuffled back down the vent, and Paige finally brought up the courage to move again when she saw the caution sign blinking again.

Checking his watch, Shrignold saw that they hadn't moved for a good while, and was surprised that in that time, nothing came to kill them. Checking vents and the hallway in front of them, he sighed his soul out when he realized that nothing was there.

"This is hell," Paige said. "We've entered and we can't get out until it's over. When did we die, Shrig? When did we die? Did the car crash on our way here? Should we have been laughing about this job while throwing snacks and checking the camera to make sure no living, breathing, _humans_ were moving?"

The clock slowly slid to about 3:30 AM. Shrignold was counting the seconds, hoping that Tony could please, for the love of God, and all of His creations that he cared about, they would make it out alive.

Paige left him in silence to pray and took over light duty, while he took out ten more minutes with what had to be a record in his prayers.

3:45 AM. Another clang was heard. Paige saw Greenie in the camera again, still jumped, still scared every second she saw his eyes, unmoving, unnerving.

Suddenly, Paige noticed something about the back room. These old animatronics… there was a Manny head staring back at her. She flicked back to the stage, where soulless shiny Manny was staring at her, and back to the room.

…They were both there.

Two Mannys. The one on the stage had short hair and a huge smile. All she could see of the other were it's eyes, but there was clearly far more hair and a scratch on the forehead.

The two sat in what had to be the longest two hours of their life. Greenie tried to enter the vent again, but was teasing them, it seemed as he crawled out of the vents again and started banging his drum in random places in the building.

Paige and Shrig had started talking to get their nerves out, as they had fifteen minutes. 5:45 AM.

Suddenly, there was a vicious cracking sound. Paige looked to the monitor, and saw the red caution sign. The music box!

Jumping for it, she wound up the music box, thinking the little she did would last them the night.

Thirteen minutes passed.

Two minutes left on the shift.

Paige's hands were sweating, near the back door that Tony was sure to enter. The monitor lay next to the telephone, Shrignold still had his flashlight ready, occasionally flicking it to make sure nothing was in that hallway.

Suddenly, Paige heard something, and Shrignold gripped the flashlight tighter.

It echoed down the hallway, pitched, but still haunting.  
>"<em>Faather…<em>"

The crack they had heard moments before came again.

Paige screamed, sliding the chair right back to the desk.

The caution sign was gone.

The music box meter was depleted.

"…Shrignold."

"…Paige, no, Paige, not now, not now! There's two minutes left! Just two! Paige, come on!"

"I'm sorry, Shrignold!"

She started checking every camera. There had to be something.

Then she saw it, staring at them. From the Main Hall. She'd frozen it, thinking, just another minute. Thirty seconds, even. They'd done it, they'd have to win.

When the camera cut again, the word "father" being displayed in a haunting way, small, typewriter text.

It blinked back in almost instantly, but the caterpillar was gone.

Shrignold hit the flashlight when he saw Paige's face.

The caterpillar flew at them, bloody, a mess, eyes not even there anymore. The mouth was open, and Shrignold screamed, dropping the flashlight.

* * *

><p>Just like that, it was over.<p>

The clock chimed. Six hours. Six o'clock was here.

The door clicked open, and there was Tony, doing his best to wheel himself in. Paige and Shrignold did not register his presence, nor his need for help, as their eyes were fixated on the Caterpillar, looming before them, before the lights clicked out.

"… Can't see a damn thing, hang on…"

Finally, the duo turned to see a lighter clicking on, and Tony's illuminated face. In the next instant, the actual lights came on, and the lighter, out.

"…Shit, kids. That was far too close for anybody's liking. _Always_ keep an eye on that godforsaken music box. No ifs, ands, or buts. _Keep your damn on eye it._"

Shrignold collapsed to the ground in a heap, while Paige fell into her chair further than she thought she could sink.

"…I can't. We can't. Mister Tony, I'm sorry, this is an impossible job. One night! That's all we had. I can't take another."

"Stay an hour, I brought breakfast. Then you can chat with the engineer I called in. They're eager to talk to you about the animatronics and their recent behavior with you as new guards."

Paige sat up, dragging her hands down her face and removing her hair, trying to fix the hair that had been mushed down into nothing by sweat.

"Breakfast is here on my lap, as you see. Sit down, eat up. What a stressful night for you two. Just eat."

Shrignold pulled himself up from the floor, and opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"No time for anything else. No more talking."


	3. Special Ones

Shrignold couldn't speak through the mouthful of food he was consuming. Paige knew he often overate when he was stressed, but this was more than she had ever seen. Finally, she pulled the bag away.

"Quit eating, Shrignold, you'll burst your guts right out."

He merely gave her a look and pulled the bag right back to take the last bagel and smother it with cream cheese.

Paige flung herself back in defeat against him, and shoved the last bite of her own bagel into her mouth as the front door opened. Tony's voice became booming and cheerful, greeting the patrons. There was also the bright "hello!" of the Balloon Buddy right by the front door. The carousel rang up in a merry tune, and the kids yells of excitement filled the hallway.

Eventually, Paige and Shrignold had relaxed after their tedious night, and Tony came to relive them of their office duties.

"All right, the creator of the animatronics is here. She's not exactly the original creator, per se, but made many of the new modifications to these current ones, such as that super strength and facial software and such. Amazing world we live in with this technology in 1989, huh?"

Paige nodded as she kicked herself up off the chair, and Shrignold hurried out behind them, trying to stuff the entire bagel into his mouth with one bite.

Tony led them to a lady with pink hair, holding a clipboard, which seemed to be getting ignored. Her eyes could not stop staring at Greenie on stage, and Manny sitting at a table to talk with kids about chasing their dreams. Although at mentioning chasing, he seemed to glitch out with an awkward head turn. This finally seemed to get her out of her trance and write something on the clipboard. Tony took this chance to wheel himself behind her and tap her shoulder.

"Mireille. These are those two night guards that I mentioned yesterday. Paige and Shrignold, meet Mireille. Mireille, meet Paige and Shrignold, Manny Myrtle's Security Team."

"Pleasure pleasure pleasure!" She tucked the clipboard under her arm and shook both their hands in a tight squeeze. Paige noticed the sapphire heart necklace she was wearing, and thought it was rather pretty.

"I was wondering when they would find someone to replace poor Tony, I mean, after that incident… I still haven't found that flaw you speak of in programming by the way, Tony, and you still know that I cannot stay the night, ever. My sleep is necessary, or my husband will be the worst grouch because I'm the worser grouch." She gave a full, hearty laugh, and turned back with a spread arm to the animatronics. "If you haven't heard already, Paige and Shrignold, these are the pride and joy of my work. Greenie, that bunny, came first. Then Manny, and lastly, Robyn. Greenie was such a trouble to build, but once I got through the entire ordeal, well, the others fell right on to build themselves!"

Shrignold was trying to put together why she, of all people, was so dedicated to building these animatronics. People didn't often build murderous animatronics, right? However, to build sentient animatronics alone was still an amazing feat. She probably had gotten a lot of money from the deal and was living very comfortably.

"How's my Special One doing, by the way? Has Laura taught you how to repair her yet?"

Tony paused at the name, then suddenly backed up and wheeled away from the crew, who watched curiously as he left. After the pause, Mireille snapped her fingers, recalling the thought. "That's right, that's right! Laura quit a while ago! Nobody knows how to do it, now… I'll have to teach you at some point, I suppose. Did you know she was originally the most beautiful mermaid here? They scrapped that old damned Harry the Hairy Pirate thing a while ago, but I'm sure it's in that back room somewhere. That's where I got the basis for these current animatronics. But those ones in the back are completely outdated, old, and useless, really. They shouldn't move at all. I remember them, however."

Her voice suddenly got quiet, and Paige believed she was debating if whether or not she should tell them very important information.

"…See, there used to be a Manny's a long time ago. Too long, even. I never remember who made the original animatronics, I just studied their inner workings extensively. But no matter what you do, they still come to, well, _life._ My mermaid, my beautiful mermaid, meant to be Manny's other half, his girlfriend, even, if that trope got going… She's the one you all now call "Mangle", due to her state of being that ruddy meddling _kids!_ Turned her into…" Her voice trailed off, and Shrignold stroked her pink hair in an attempt to soothe her. Paige noticed that she was holding tight to that sapphire necklace that she was admiring earlier.

"… Scraps of metal that cling to ceilings. I had to trap them somewhere. They were hiding out in a garage in a dumpster while I built the others away, but when they attacked a garbage man who wasn't aware of the leaving at night policy, I realized I had to put them into a new home. I threw the old animatronics in the back, and the new Toy ones have had the same fate. I'm sorry, you're needed here. We _need_ you here. You kids are our only hope that they don't leave and kill again. I'll try my hardest to keep searching for a way to turn them off without rusting their joints or turning them off. I promise. But please. Please."

* * *

><p>Paige clutched the wheel a little tighter than probably necessary on the way home. Shrignold didn't really want to say anything, not even turn on the radio, something they almost always did to jam out and sing along with the tunes.<p>

But not today. Today was a much more tense day than that.

After near-death experiences, horror on the new job, a cryptic bipolar wheelchair bound day guard, a mysterious engineer with strange connections to the animatronics…

"There's something awful going on in that place, Shrig, and I don't like it one bit." Her voice was icy, but Shrignold was strangely happy to hear it.

"Let's go through our facts. We've got a few people to look at right? First, those creepy-ass animatronics. Then, we've also got that weirdo day guard to be on look out for, but I know he probably won't hurt us at all. Then we've got this new chick, someone who clearly knows more than she's letting on. Lastly, we've got a manager we haven't met yet."

"We'll focus on sorting this out. But I got a question. The manager? Why them?"

"Well, shit, I don't know Shrig, there's only murderous animatronics interacting with kids in his establishment, apparently _two _before this one, there was a murder at a dumpster lot that's obviously been swept under the rug… What the hell is going on in that place?"

"Let's focus on easier problems first, Paige. Firstly, Tony. He seems to know quite a bit more than we know. He's got his wits about the place, and I think he's the eavesdropping type."

"I'm sure he is. Heartless man, too, not coming in until the stroke of six." Paige gave a sarcastic snort, if that was something even possible to do. "We could have died. Mr. Creepy Caterpillar there…"

"Probably chokes you with his strings-"

"All right, all right, shut up! Back on topic to Tony. He clearly got something messed up with his legs, probably there."

"Do… do you think the animatronics got him?" Shrignold almost didn't want to keep going with that thought, but in the following silence, it forced them both to consider the possibility as they trudged to their apartment, and Paige collapsed at the table. Defeat and laziness was her stress fixer, while Shrignold's was eating and keeping busy. Sighing, Paige listened as he worked out the details of a new recipe to keep himself whistling and humming, and wondered what it could be this time, that he was making.

Falling asleep to his gentle humming of "Hey There Delilah", her dreams were riddled with the face of Greenie, Tony being pulled away by a faceless monster and then choked by the strings of the caterpillar, and Shrignold and her, cowering in fear from an unknown monster, something they had yet to encounter in the depths of that pizzeria…

* * *

><p>"Paige… Paige! Wake up, you've slept two hours away and you don't want to not be able to fall asleep later! PAIGE!"<p>

"Augh!" Paige woke up and quickly found that in her tossing and turning, found her way to the edge of the sofa. Hitting the coffee table as well, her sketch pads and notebooks were flying through the air as well, landing on top of her, the sofa, and back onto the floor.

"Well, that's one way to clear the coffee table." Shrignold chuckled, and Paige debated for a moment telling Shrignold about her dreams, about her fears, and worries of the place, but instead, accepted some interesting mixture of beef and other ingredients she couldn't care less to ask about, because it was delicious nonetheless.

"So," Shrignold stated after a few minutes with a mouthful of the food, "… Tony was probably gotten by those animatronics, which means that there is time if they catch us. They might not get us right away, which means we can technically kill time at the end if we don't use the button or drop limp."  
>"Yes, but, who wants to risk killing time like that? If we kill time, something will kill <em>us.<em> And neither of us have a death wish, last I checked."

"Okay, so, Tony's dragged off, makes his legs useless, and we're hired. That inventor also knows some things. I think she's been around the company longer than she seems. Which means she looks great for her age."

Paige instantly shook her head. "Nah, she's younger than you're assuming her to be. She wasn't treating it like a job, more like a passion."

"A passion?"

"A childish one, at that."

"It's been around this long? This franchise, these animatronics? Are you serious? Holy shit, Paige."

"I mean, we can ask tomorrow, see if we hear anything. For now, though, I suggest a movie, something distracting, then sleep. It's going to be a unique sleep schedule to adjust to."

"Indeed, that's true."

* * *

><p>"Welcome back, kids."<p>

With much reluctance, Shrignold and Paige arrived at their nightguard job again. They knew the ropes this time. Nothing could be hard, anymore. The tricks would be better, nothing could attack them now.

"Push the button, check the camera, and wind that music box. Don't let each other down." Tony nodded and this time, Paige and Shrignold did not watch him drive away. Rather, they just went in, sat down, and waited for the bells to toll at 12 AM.

Some time later, after still nothing had moved, the phone rang.

It didn't scare Paige out of her wits this time, and she picked it up calmly, as Shrignold flickered the flashlight on and off to check the long hallway before them.

"Hello?" Her voice was even calm, Shrignold noted, which was the opposite of how he felt, the tension inside him building up into a mess of tangled worries and fears of death.

"_Hello, hello? Good to hear you're both still alive!"_

"You left us only minutes ago."

"_And you've got hours left to go. All right, I'm sure Mireille mentioned the older animatronics to you-"_

"And their murderous natures."

"…_Yes, well."_

"Tell us. You wouldn't call to check at 12 AM's part. At least you'd call at four."

"_I'll be asleep then."_

"And we could be dead."

"_Touché. Well, those older models in the back room are from the previous locations we've had in the past, and while Mireille tried to repair them, but it became apparent that we needed some newer, shinier friends in Manny Myrtle's. She even started them on the newer technology, but they were just so awful and ugly, with the most awful smell. Awful… awful stinking scent that I couldn't wash off my body for days on end."_

Shrignold looked right at Paige when he heard that. Their fears were confirmed. These things would take them, and kill them if they had the chance.

"_The kids laughing trick works on them, though, don't you worry a mite about it, Shrignold. But there's just one guy you must be solely responsible for, or you're both dead."_

"Can we not see it on a camera?" Shrignold leaned back and said into the telephone before leaning forward again and checking the hallway. Still nothing. Paige, on the other hand, was mindlessly flicking through cameras.

"_Harry the Pirate. He's kind of like this squid-headed monster thing. Meant to frighten kids a little bit, I think, and it did it's job. I believe the red color was a fashion statement at the time, but now I just relate it to all the blood that must be on these animatronics at this point…"_ His voice drifted off, and Paige looked through the cameras again, clearly worried now. Shrignold checked vents and took a sudden sense of responsibility for the hallway, knowing that both he and Paige played major roles in each other's safety. Trust.

"_He'll activate, for some weird reason. And he isn't affected by the kid's laughter, no matter how hard you try. If he does come to life, which I don't think he will… flash that flashlight a few times down the hall, kid. Give it a good flicker. Those older models haven't got those updated eye thingamajigs, so they'll be disoriented by the lights, and reset to start at the backroom. In fact, Paige, try it with any of them in any of the party room. You've got your own set of lights, as I'm sure you know…_

"_And the music box. Don't forget the damn music box. That puppet has ears, and a mind of it's own. Don't. Forget. It._

"_See you tomorrow."_

The phone line clicked, and they settled themselves into their positions.

12:24 AM.

It was going to be a long night.


	4. In The Cloak Of Darkness

The clock seemed to go by a little faster, but Paige noticed that the animatronics were a little more active that night. The Toy ones were moving around a lot more, and once, when she clicked on the Show Stage, Freddy was looking right at the camera.

Shrignold had also seen something at the end of the hall, but could not distinguish what it was before he flashed the light again and it was gone.

While winding up the music box, to make sure that the Caterpillar did not attack them again, Shrignold thought he heard something shifting around in the vents.

"…Did you hear that?"

"…I heard that."

Paige checked both the vents that she could see, but saw nothing, and then saw nothing at either vent entrance. So whatever was prowling around… was either super fast, or dancing in the space between the entrance and the camera.

And nothing was in the immediate entrance, as Shrignold's lights confirmed.

It was almost boring… until Paige checked the back room and bothered to click the light on.

That purple frog animatronic that was without a face was gone.

"Shit! Shrignold, get the flashlight ready, and the button, we have an emergency that I don't think we want to deal with!"

"What?!" His attempt at a whisper came out harsh and rushed, as he clutched the button in his grip, flicking the flashlight a few times to see down the hallway. Nothing in sight still.

"That purple frog thing? I think? I only think it was because it had webby feet and toes, and a vest… anyway! It's out of the room, and _I can't find him_."

"Check the main hall…? That seemed to be a local hangout for a few, you said. Even the caterpillar paused there to check you out."

"Ew, you make it sound like that thing was trying to get me on a date with it. No way, José." At the talk of the caterpillar, she wound up the music box as full as she possibly could, and checked the main hall.

With a soft scream from Paige, Shrignold confirmed what he had assumed was correct.

"The Frog is looking up at us."

"Call him Froggie. With "Greenie" as the Green Rabbit, I'm sure he's called something just as simple.

"Froggie, then. Faceless bastard is in the Main Hall, like you said.

Finally, all the animatronics had left the stage, and Paige found them all on her cameras. Greenie was in the dining room, Robyn in Party Room 4, and Shiny Manny (as she had come to calling the counterpart) in the Game Area, behind the Balloon Buddy unicorn.

That other Dull Manny was sitting in the backroom, still lying and staring up at the camera.

Nothing moved, however, for about thirty minutes. It kept both Paige and Shrignold on an edge.

But then, Shrignold turned on the flashlight.

And saw a monster that he could only describe as a squid-man staring at him from the other head of the hallway, eyes glowing and hook raised.

He couldn't help but yell then cover his mouth out of concern. Naturally, Paige's head snapped to attention.

"Turn on the light, let me see!"

He flicked it on again, and there was Harry.  
>"He's closer!" Shrignold was doing his best to give quiet, but dire, screams.<p>

"Flicker the light you idiot, flicker!"

He did as ordered, rapidly turning the light on and off in an attempt to make Harry go away.

For about five minutes, he did that, and finally, the last time he turned it on, he was gone.

"I checked vents for you a couple times, still nothing. Nothing except that blasted monster has moved, and I'm glad you bothered to check, Shrig."

"Thank you," he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"So, that's apparently Mangle's counterpart, that mess of parts that we always see in Kid's Cove. Interesting and good to know."

"Yeah, great to know, even." His tone was sarcastic. "One more thing that can kill us in the night."

"We've got the rhythm down, and the button's on the desk, just pick it up again, now that we're done scaring off monsters with flashlights.

More time still passed. Greenie had hit vents along with Robyn, but neither actually entered rather than just them banging on the vents to scare them out of their wits.

"I hate this place, I hate this place," Shrignold couldn't help but mumbling after a little past 3:30 AM. "This is the worst place I've ever had to go to and I hate every minute of it."

Finally, they heard clanging in the vents. Paige checked. Greenie wasn't near or in the right vent. Robyn wasn't outside of the left vent.

Then she clicked and turned on the light in the left vent camera. And what she saw had to be the most terrifying thing they had ever seen.

Froggie.

"It has really no face," she said, her nerves of shock so dulled at this point that nothing was fazing her now. "Just parts visible to the whole world. The face has been completely ripped off, and it can still function. It's amazing.

Then the camera cut, and they heard a voice.

"I've looooooooooooo….."_ kzzz_ "… glasses! Can you help find my glasses, kids?"

Paige felt herself break into a sweat, and Shrignold gripped the button.

As in on cue, when he hit the vent light, and saw him about to reach out, they collapsed into their respective places, finger right on the button and tucked to his chest for Shrignold. The lights cut in the office, and for a moment, Paige stopped breathing. The dark. Nothing could cut through it.

Then, they came back on, and Froggie was floating above the desk, staring down at her, without any eyes.

"Can you help me find my glassesssssss… or can I kiiiiiiiiiiii….lll…."

Laughter.

Paige wanted to sigh with relief, but that didn't happen. She had to stay still. Froggie's head cracked to one side, briefly, but then, as the lights flickered out again, she knew he was gone.

And instantly, as soon as the lights were back on, Shrignold was up and clicking the flashlight down the hallway, and checking vents.

"Nothing," he confirmed, as Paige could barely make her sweaty and shaking fingers grip the music box dial to wind it up. Was it going down faster than yesterday? It sure felt like it was.

The rest of the night went on rather uneventful. 6 o'clock came, and they breathed a huge sigh of relief when the clock went off and the door behind them opened.

"Help me again, kids? Bagels on the lap and man in a wheelchair."

"Food!" Shrignold was instantly moving to help Tony, and Paige merely just checked the cameras one last time.

She swore that, for a moment, Froggie was looking up at her from the back room, but by the time she looked again, he was in the position that he had started their shift in.

"Paige? He got chocolate chip today."

Shrignold's vice brought her back to her senses, and she shook her head and looked around, seeing that Tony had left and a huge paper bag had been plopped in front of them again.

God, she was starving.


	5. Trust

"Hello, you two!" Mireille said in a joyfully excited voice as she walked in with two cups of steaming coffee. Shrignold turned his down, but Paige gladly took it while handing Mireille a bagel as she sat down cross-legged on top of the desk.

"So what happened last night?" she asked them, instantly curious as to their experiences with the animatronics.

"We met one of the older ones. He was looming above me. I wasn't aware you had programmed them to float." Paige bit into a bagel rather violently, and Shrignold continued.

"Nah, his feet were on the ground, he's just really tall compared to you. Scared the wits out of me, I tell you. But luckily, I was able to hit the button because I wasn't in Froggie's view."

"An older animatronic? And Froggie, of all people? I tore his face off to get into inner programming, which I was sure I'd tinkered with enough to make him never work again… A few accidentally pulled wires while seeing how he was put together, I'm afraid…" Mireille gave a nervous laugh while Paige leaned back and groaned.

"Nothing much else, just a terrifying night. Everything is on the edge. Everything is out to kill you."

"And we're both responsible for each other's life, because Paige has to watch them and I've got to make sure something doesn't come out of the vents or lunge down the hallway to kill us."

"That is the very meaning of trust, isn't it? You must have faith that the other will not let you down, under any circumstances. One of you gives up, you both die."

"We won't abandon each other!" Paige and Shrignold both yelled at the same time. Then they stared at each other, until Shrignold yelled "Jinx!" and knocked on the wooden desk. Paige stared laughing along with Mireille, which extended to Shrignold laughing as well.

Laughter was nice. Laughter was… calming.

"It's time to do some investigation!" Paige slammed the car door shut as she started walking up to the library.

Shrignold shifted and sat up suddenly, trying to register where they actually were. "Some what? Not sleep or eat more?"

"It is not a day for basic needs anymore. We need to figure out what's going on with this place. Let's do some research. There's bound to be something about this business, or their policies, which we gotta figure out." She pushed the door open and walked inside, Shrignold locking the car door behind him and dashing in to follow her.

"We'll check the microfiche reader, I don't know if there's anything I can use, but I'll see if this place has some past issues."

"I'll check recent newspapers, then? I feel like they've been hiding something from us lately. I dunno, just… something about that place."

They went their separate ways, and Paige sat down. She tried to think of what time that something could have occurred. How long ago would something have existed for Mireille to be there? She didn't even know how old she was. Deciding on 1960, she started to flip through newspapers from then. Nothing was striking, nothing hit her as she went back and forth through the files. Right as the print was starting to hurt her eyes, a headline on the front page caught her eye because of the double M's. Leaning back to blink and adjust, she leaned back forward again and read the text before her.  
>"<em>Manuel Myrtie's Responsible for Child's Death<em>"

Instantly interested, she adjusted the lenses and read the smaller print.

"_Manuel Myrtie's is a place often associated with family fun and amusement. However, there was a death at the establishment yesterday afternoon – a young children was found dead outside the window at about 4:00 PM. Investigation yields his time of death to be around 3:30 PM. _

"_Interestingly enough, around this time, a child's birthday party was occurring, and at the time of 3:30, the Manuel Myrtie animatronic – the namesake attraction to the establishment – reported to begin to break and slow down. The young girl who the birthday party was being held for started crying when the animatronic stopped, which is why the witnesses remember the animatronic's pause so well._

"_The establishment is paying for the funeral, which will be held…"_

Paige felt her shoulder being tapped, and she turned to look at who was tapping.

Shrignold was there, holding a newspaper.

"Remember that name everyone keeps mentioning? We never hear a thing about her, but she's clearly got a hold on Tony and Mireille kinda can't remember who she was or is? I found her."

"W… who, Shrig? What was the name?"

"Laura!" He quickly flung the newspaper out before her and pointed at the article in reference.

Unlike the child's death Paige had just read, Laura's took a backseat article on a page that most people reading the newspaper don't often make it to or skip over.

"_Manny Myrtle's Linked to Strange Occurrence"_

"See, it says that this local girl had a job there, just like we did, as a night guard. But, but! She was found dead. There have been people who died before us. We don't know who this girl is, how she relates to the animatronics, but clearly she had some hold over most of these people in the place."

"Maybe she's the daughter of the manager we've heard so much about?"

"Keep reading, that's where it gets interesting."

Paige looked to him with a questioning look, as if she'd rather have him tell her.

"Well, go on!"

She rolled her eyes and turned to where Shrignold's finger was resting on the fine print.

"_Laura worked as a night guard at the family playtime establishment, Manny Myrtle's. Her co-worker, Tony Harrison, is currently in the hospital, and cannot be questioned at the moment, but we hear he is not going to be able to walk again after the attack."_

"Jesus Christ!" Paige hissed, holding the newspaper closer to her face to make sure she hadn't read it wrong. "Tony worked with her?"

"Paige… people have died, there. I don't want to go back."

"No, we're going back. We're going to interrogate Tony. We've got to find out what the hell is going on here."

"Welcome back, kiddos." As if they were entering for a stage cue, Tony swung around in his chair and placed the tablet on the desk. "What's wrong? You look like you've got a question."

"Must have been obvious on my face." Paige pulled the chair around to sit in front of Tony and sat backwards, resting her arms on the back of the chair. "Laura. Who is she? Why did she die?"  
>"Kids, it's 11:51, I haven't got time to spare here…"<p>

"_Now._"

He turned to the door, but Shrignold was standing in front of it, barring the exit. Tony resigned to his fate and hunched forward, staring right into Paige's harsh eyes.

"…Laura was one of the longest lasting night guard, alongside myself. We were… very good friends."

"Lovers."

Tony felt his face heat up. "I do wish you didn't put it quite like that. We were two strangers, who happened to sign up for the job position together. Instead of being silent for six hours, we talked and talked and talked. The animatronics were really less violent back a time ago. They just moved around, and we had to make sure they didn't leave the building.  
>"We got too careless. One night, we were distracted. Making plans for something nicer to do. We had realized a violent increase in the animatronics behavior, but discarded it that night. We left things alone, just thinking we could talk. I checked cameras, she would flash down the hallway… but then it happened.<br>"The older animatronics came to life. We had been the longest lasting crew there in ages. Others got careless or quit the job. We lasted so long, establishment was even considering raising our wages because we looked promising.

"We didn't notice them. Taking all the back ways, knowing all the ways… it wasn't until I was checking the cameras right before 6 struck that I saw the faceless Froggie in the vents… and Laura shined down the hallway to see Foxy, so close that if he had stepped another step, he'd be the office. They'd waited until the last possible moment to give us a false sense of hope, those bastards."

Paige twisted around in her chair, while Shrignold pulled his sleeve back to check his watch.

"I'm almost done, I have to leave. They'll know me. Then Chica, she came out of the vent and grabbed my legs. I was horrified. I started screaming, and Laura turned to see me and my legs being mauled by that awful bird. Then I saw Foxy lunge at her head, and I think my blood loss from my legs caused me to faint. I know the clock started ringing, however, but the Day Guard who came in moments later was too late to help Laura. I was barely saved. He heard the sounds from the door, but the key was stuck… and just… I woke up. To hear what had happened to Laura…"

Paige rested a hand on Tony's, and he finally got out of his trace and stared into Paige's eyes for a few moments.

"…Do I look like her or something?" She was momentarily creeped out before Tony pulled his hand away and shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing like her, actually. You two are very different. Besides, you already have a boyfriend, it seems." With that, he started rolling out as they protested behind him.

"Stay safe, I'll call you soon!" The door shut and locked, before Paige and Shrignold looked to each other with the sound of the bell coming a couple minutes later.

"What have we got tonight?" Paige took an official tone as she sat at the desk, holding the monitor to check the cameras quickly before giving the music box a good wind.

"A shit ton of animatronics out to kill us, and six long hours to make sure they don't."


	6. Noise

It was the third night they'd were working there, but it really felt like it had been so much longer since they started the job. Paige wasn't sure how much longer she could take the job, as well. There was so much left unanswered, and both of them were now completely intrigued in the mystery of the pizzeria and it's mysterious inhabitants.

"All right, we've got new information to sort out tonight."

"What do you mean, Shrig?" Paige looked up from the monitor where she had been staring right at Greenie's face, trying to figure out what made him work behind those shiny eyes and rosy cheeks, if he knew that Mireille had put him together.

"Well, Tony worked here with this Laura girl, right? I wonder if these animatronics have a concept of death. Do they want to kill us? And why the nightguards? There are so many kids and adults during the day, why not them?"

"Are you saying they have a… grudge against night guards?"

"Yeah, exactly!" He flickered the light almost absentmindedly now, registered that nothing was in the hallway, and flickered lights in the vents.

"Like, they're after us. We're bait. Maybe there's something in the bell when midnight rings. These guys would be fine on their own, honestly."

"Unless they fight each other."

"I doubt it. They work together. If they attacked each other then they would be fighting all over the place these past two nights."

"True, true."

There was a silence until the phone rang, and Paige instantly grabbed it and monitored cameras to make sure no animatronics had shifted due to the sound.

"Tony?"

"_Anything interesting happen yet?"_

"I've just been having a staring contest with Greenie over the monitor and we're discussing why the hell they decide to kill nightguards."

"_I'm afraid that's one thing I don't even know. I meant to ask this morning, did Harry appear in the hallway?"_

"Hell yeah he did. Scared the shit out of us too."

"_Well, I'm glad you warded him off, obviously. Gosh, that mermaid creature is scarer than him at times, but I've never liked him since, well-"_

"We get it. What's the lay-down for tonight?"

"_Um, well, I just wanted to know if you guys had heard any rumors lately. Other than Laura, I mean."_

"…Does 'Manuel Myrtie's' mean anything to you?"

"…_I could check."_

"That was a rather long silence on your part."

"_Does that automatically mean I know something?"_

"You people are determined to hide things from us."

"_You are night guards hired to protect the establishment and nothing more."_

"Are you sure? Sure seems like we're bait as well. And that if anything, we play one of the most important roles in the running of this establishment."

"_Ah, well. That is a way to look at it, yes. Hang in there, though, I'm sure you will, kids. Call me if you have any issues, and if not, see you at six."_

The phone clicked before Paige could even get a word in to say good-bye or ask another question.

"They really are hiding shit from us," she stated, slamming the phone onto the receiver before hearing a noise in the right vent and seeing that Greenie was banging his drumstick right on the inside.

"Jesus Christ." Flicking around, she saw that nobody else was active, but did notice that the music box bar was already one-fifth gone.

"This is certainly going down way faster, considering how short of a time it's been since our shift started."

"This place knows we've survived this long, and it's certainly beginning to challenge us more and more, huh?"

"I wish we had that easy-peasy time that Tony and Laura had. Imagine not having to worry this much about your fate every night that you can form a loving relationship."

"Are you saying two people can't form a loving relationship at the same time their lives are being threatened?"

"Shrig, I told you, I'm not interested. I'm sorry."

He checked the hallway and vent lights before turning back to look at her. "I know you're not. I just… I thought maybe the opinion had changed."  
>"Opinions don't change that easily. People will still paint the way they do even after people criticize them for their unique style. People will still believe something even if their circumstances change. And people trapped in a room together for six hours a day who are also living together just don't <em>fall in love.<em> So maybe Tony and Laura were the exceptions. But that doesn't mean we'll be, too. Shrig, you're my best friend, and kinda my only friend right now. I haven't been able to meet many cool people because of lame-ass jobs we get, but I don't want to try anything right now. I'm not interested."

That awkward note lasted a couple hours. There was simply silence, save for multiple clangs in the vents, a few gasps from Paige when she saw one had moved, and Shrignold's mild swearing when he thought he saw some things down at the end of the hallway.

The next conversation didn't come until about 2:45.

"…Oh my God." Paige pushed away from the desk, holding the tablet as far away from herself as she could. "Oooh my God."

She pulled herself back to the desk and grabbed the telephone, quick to dial the number on the back. She had to make sure she wasn't going crazy.  
>"What, Paige?" Checking lights before turning around, Shrignold looked at the monitor while Paige listened to the phone buzzing. His eyes widened too at what he saw, and Paige's shaken voice came next.<br>"Tony, I know you're sleeping, I'm sorry, but I have to know: Does that Balloon Buddy _move?_" Her eyes glanced back at the monitor to see an empty room, Balloon Buddy nowhere in sight.

"_Ah, shit, I probably should have mentioned that. Yeah, he does. Doesn't attack, though, so he's pretty lame. There's nothing much he can do. Pops balloons sometimes, though."_

This time, it was Shrignold's turn to tense up.

"Pops balloons?" He threw the flashlight at Paige while taking the phone. She knew why and instantly went to temporarily taking both jobs while he was on the phone.

"_Yeah." _Tony's groggy voice was slow. _"It kinda will be in the vents, left one. Never the right, never the hallway. In fact, I'd check the vents for that unicorn right now. He's probably there. He pops balloons to scare you."_

"Sir, I don't believe I mentioned this, but I…. I can't…."

"_Can't what? Handle unicorns?"_ A chuckle. _"Did one kick you in your teeth when you were younger?"_

"Sir." Paige leaned back and interrupted. "He's got globophobia. Fear of balloons, or the popping thereof."

"…_Ah. Well, Godspeed and good night! I need to sleep before waking up at 5:30, don't call back."_

The click showed that they really were alone, that the landline wasn't even much use, and the fact that his last sentences were rushed and muddled also meant that he really didn't expect to be of any use.

Shrignold solemnly took the flashlight back, afraid of what could possibly happen now.

A few minutes later, they heard it.

"_Hello."_

They very nearly jumped out of their skin, and looked to the vent they'd heard the sound come out of. Turning on the light, Shrignold saw that there was nothing there.

"…It's in the vent." Paige confirmed Balloon Buddy's presence by seeing his orange unicorn face grinning at the cameras after she flashed the light inside the vent.

"I can't believe it. It's going to kill us."

"It won't kill us, remember?"

Suddenly, like a gunshot, a balloon popped. Neighing followed, as if the Balloon Buddy was laughing at them, and just as quickly as the chain of events had started, they stopped.

Paige looked to find Shrignold on the floor, curled into a fetal position. Grabbing the flashlight and positioning herself at a good vantage point on the desk, she took over for about thirty minutes until he recovered.

"Fucking music box" was the first thing Shrignold heard when he finally sat up and saw Paige sitting at the desk.

"What's wrong with it?" He slowly stood up, trying to recover his senses. He'd completely shut down at hearing the balloon, and saw Paige winding the little dial rapidly.

"That little thing is seriously screwing with us. I think the box is winding down faster. So I gotta keep a closer eye on it."

"Ah. I see."

He took the flashlight, and checked in the hallways. Nothing too major.

At about 5:00 AM, however, they had the shock of a lifetime.

Nothing too important was happening. They'd scared Harry out of the hallway a couple times, and seen Froggie searching around for his glasses, all while Greenie and Robyn banged around the vents.

But it was when they heard a certainly louder and more significant one that Paige finally gave the inside of the right vent a good look.

And what she came face to face with made her bite back a scream.

"What's wrong, Paige?"

"…Did you know there's also an old Robyn?"

"_No. _Are you serious right now?"

"Yeah, I'm serious. Thing's got three sets of teeth, too."

Then the lights flickered out. Shrignold grabbed the button and collapsed to the floor. Paige worked just as fast, flinging herself back into the chair in a dead position while the tablet was tossed onto the desk.

The lights flickered back on, and there was Robyn, in all his muddled, damaged green-feathered glory. It was almost painful to look at. But Paige wasn't making direct eye contact with him.

No, Robyn was staring at Shrignold. Which meant he'd see the movement when Shrignold went to push the button.

Oh Gods. Oh Gods they were so royally screwed right now. Paige felt herself beginning to sweat at the very thought of Tony coming in, finding hunks of their skin chewed out by those three sets of teeth, that they'd never see the daylight again…

A sound. A vent clang. The bird's head swung a full 180 to look back, and Shrignold took the brief window of chance.

The laughter came moments later, deep inside the building, as if the children were pouring in by the hundreds. Echoing off the walls, it even reached the animatronic's head, and they watched it shift down the hallway, lights flickering out again briefly before turning back on.

Shrignold sat up from the floor, letting out the largest breath Paige had ever heard him sigh.

"Save us…"

Shrignold entered into another prayer, and Paige let him as she flashed down the hallway to make sure nothing else was coming, and screwed up the music box completely.

Nothing else happened, and 6 AM came without much worry. Tony wheeled himself into the room with Paige gladly pulling the door open for him to enter.

"What happened tonight?" he asked while placing the bigger bag on the counter, his smaller bag being opened to reveal his own breakfast of a sandwich and apples.

"Robyn, that old creepy one, we met him… and Shrignold had the fright of his life."

"Sorry, I should've mentioned that freaky Balloon Buddy-Unicorn thing. I didn't think it might actually come alive, but I suppose that was wishful thinking. Look, Shrignold, I'm really sorry."

"It's honestly fine. Doesn't bother me too much."

"Eat up, then go home and sleep. You two deserve it, and look like you need it."


End file.
